Lhota's potential entry into the race has been a hot topic of political chatter since the Oct. 29 storm, which brought him praise for the MTA's bounceback from the worst flooding in the transit system's history. Some buses began running the day after the storm arrived, and some subway service resumed within three days.

More Information

Lhota resigned as the agency's chief last month to explore a mayoral run.

"I would not have left the MTA, a job and position that I loved, if I was not going to run for mayor of New York," he told members of the New York Building Congress on Monday, before elaborating to reporters about his filing plans.